


The Darkest Hour

by FixaIdea



Category: Maurice (1987), Maurice - E. M. Forster
Genre: A Happy Ending Was Imperative, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Romance, World War I, is still my guiding line dw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-20 02:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20220622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FixaIdea/pseuds/FixaIdea
Summary: Times are dark and hopeless and Maurice and Alec have to work hard to keep their light alive.





	The Darkest Hour

October, 1918

The night was wet, cold, and all in all typical to October, with all that this entailed. It was also a night that found Alec Scudder and Maurice Hall in an abandoned barn, in the middle of nowhere, in France.

They had both been in better shape. War was hard on everyone but as foreigners who still struggled with the language the general misery hit them even harder. They have been down on luck - and employment - for months now, and the strain on their bodies and spirit was beginning to show. This whole day, like the day before, was mostly spent in moody, hopeless silence. 

Now they were huddled together for warmth, wrapped up in every blanket and bit of clothing they owned. After they settled down, Maurice spoke.

‘How do you feel?’

‘How do you think?’ Alec grumbled ‘I’m bloody cold and miserable.’

He was simply stating facts and no one could blame him for his foul mood, yet something about the phrasing sent a jab of ice through Maurice’s chest, though he could not pin down the reason. He sighed and pulled Alec closer, stroking his hair, hoping the strange fear would go away - but no. It remained there, lodged in his chest like a small blade. 

He was close to dozing off when his muddled thoughts floating around in the back of his mind suddenly lined up into a clear memory, pushing his heart into his throat with panic. Clive. These were his exact words on that one uncomfortable night when he sought and failed to find comfort in Maurice’s bed, not long before their relationship fell apart.

As if on cue, Alec reached up and plucked his hand from his hair. Maurice held his breath, suddenly terrified - but instead of pushing it away Alec brought his hand to his lips and kissed it.

‘My poor Morrie’ he murmured, much gentler and warmer than before ‘Yer poor hand, look how it’s shaking! You really must stop trying to sneak me all yer food, don’t think I didn’t notice you doin’ it! You’ll die on me if ya keep that up!’

‘It’s all right’ said Maurice, trying to keep the trembling out of his voice at least.

‘You don’t sound all right. I mean, even less all right than expected, what with everything…’

Maurice merely shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. He willed himself to relax, but the trembling spread from his hands all the way up his chest and made his lips wobble.

‘I ruined your life.’

It took him a moment to realise he just spoke out loud. Alec was very still beside him.

‘You wot now?’ he said finally, with a clear edge of disbelief and maybe some exasperation.

Maurice blinked up at the ceiling, trying to keep the tears at bay.

‘By all rights you should be safe in Argentina, well away from this… this hell.’

Alec propped himself up and scooted upwards until their noses were almost touching.

‘I’m forgetting the bit where you bodily hauled me off o’ that ship. Guess ‘cause it never happened. I’ll tell ya what ya did to get me here. You left the window open one night and you made a suggestion. That’s it. That’s all. Everything else was my decision. Mine.’

Maurice had no comeback. The fear did not disappear completely, but it let up enough for him to finally relax. He fell asleep with Alec’s fingers in his hair.

The next day started out as dreary and hopeless as all the previous days of the last year. They were trudging along a stone fence, hoping against all hope to find shelter and employment in the next town. Most of the day was spent in silence, but Maurice could clearly feel Alec’s eyes on him. Still, he remained quiet until about noon when they stopped for rest. Now Alec was openly staring at Maurice, something obviously on his mind. Finally he took a deep breath, plucked a long blade of grass from beside the fence and walked up to Maurice. He took the astonished man’s hand in his own and tied the blade of grass around his ring finger.

‘Ere’ he muttered, blushed crimson, eyes downcast ‘I got no proper ring to give, but I want you to know, I’m here, I’m yours as you are mine, and I ain’t going nowhere. I said to you we won’t be parted no more and I meant it.’

Once again, Maurice found himself at a loss for words. All he could do was gather Alec into his arms, pull him close and sob and sob into his shoulder.

Exactly two years to this day they bought a real pair of rings.


End file.
